Mahomes, Thielen Highlight NFL Week 9 Props

Patrick Mahomes continued the spectacular play last weekend that has become the hallmark of his first season as the starting quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The second-year passer connected on four touchdown passes for the fourth time this season while leading the Chiefs to a 30-23 victory over Denver, and has emerged as a strong -190 bet on the NFL Week 9 props to toss four or more scoring passes in OVER 7.5 games during the regular season.

Selected 10th overall out of Texas Tech in the 2017 NFL Draft, Mahomes has quickly emerged as an elite QB in his first season as a starter. The 23-year-old leads all pivots with 2,526 passing yards and 26 touchdowns, and sits as a +100 favorite on the NFL MVP odds.

In addition to tossing four scoring passes in each of his past three outings, Mahomes also connected in the end zone four times in the Chiefs’ 38-28 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers as 3-point underdogs to open the season, and lit up the Pittsburgh Steelers with six scoring passes in Kansas City’s 42-37 win as 4-point underdogs in Week 2.

While Mahomes continues to chase history in the Chiefs’ visit to Cleveland as 9-point favorites this week, veteran passer Ryan Fitzpatrick will be looking to continue his strong play at the helm of the Tampa Bay offense when the Buccaneers visit the Carolina Panthers as 6.5-point underdogs.

Fitzpatrick exceeded expectations during a season-opening stint under center while Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston served a three-game suspension. The 35-year-old led Tampa Bay to a 2-1 SU start while tossing 11 scoring passes before giving way to Winston in a crushing 48-10 loss to the Chicago Bears.

But with Winston struggling, Fitzpatrick sparked a spirited comeback attempt when he returned to action late in last week’s 37-34 loss to Cincinnati as 3.5-point underdogs, and is poised for another strong performance this weekend.

The 14-year veteran eclipsed 400 passing yards in his first three starts of the season, and has emerged as a solid -120 wager to top 315.5 passing yards on the NFL Week 9 prop bets. Fitzpatrick also sports -120 odds of completing OVER 24.5 passes on Sunday, and -155 odds of having OVER 1.5 touchdown passes.

However, Fitzpatrick’s renaissance campaign is not without its warts. The product of Harvard has tossed five interceptions so far this season, including three picks in a 30-27 loss in Pittsburgh in Week 3, and is a -230 favorite to toss at least one pick in Carolina this weekend.

Thielen WR Performance on NFL Betting Props

The five-year veteran and Minnesota native has enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2018, and has climbed to the top of the NFL stats by racking up 925 receiving yards. With 103 yards on seven catches in last week’s 30-20 loss to New Orleans, Thielen also equaled an NFL record with eight straight outings with more than 100 receiving yards.

The 28-year-old is now set as a -175 favorite to smash that record with a 100+ yard performance in the Vikings’ Week 9 matchup with Detroit, and is a -120 bet to top 108.5 receiving yards against the Lions.